Owen Garriott's Space Prank
Among all space curiosities and pranks, the top spot rightfully belongs to Owen Garriott's joke. In 1973 he was part of the crew of the American orbital station “Skylab”. The prank he played on Flight Control Center officer Robert Crippen is worthy of forever entering the annals of astronautics.
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Garriott took a tape recorder with him into space, on which his wife had recorded several pre‑written phrases. When one day operator Robert Crippen contacted the orbital station, Garriott was waiting at the transmitter with the recorder in hand. The following dialogue took place between the station and Mission Control:
- “Skylab”, this is Houston, respond.
- Hello, Houston, — replied the station in a bright female voice. — This is “Skylab”.
Earth, after a brief pause, inquired:
- Who is speaking?
- Hi, Bob, — replied the station. — This is Helen, Owen’s wife.
Bob mulled over the answer for a few seconds, then managed to say:
- What are you doing there?
- I decided to bring the guys something to eat. Everything fresh, — reassured his voice from orbit.
Mission Control was silent for about a minute, then disconnected. Apparently, the officer’s nerves gave out.
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